Innovation Grants
The Australian government provides quite a variety of grants to SMEs in the Product Innovation & Research category. While most of these grants are funded by the Federal Government, some state governments also provide grants for businesses located in their area. In this section, we will discuss some of the grants available in the Product Innovation & Research category and their eligibility requirements.
Federal Government Funded Grants
One of the grants funded by the Federal government in this category provides SMEs with a funding match up to $50,000 to hire research experts to assist them to grow their businesses. In order to be eligible for this grant, businesses must have an Australian Company Number and should be registered for GST. The turnover should be less than $1.5 million in the year of application as well as two years before that. Businesses should be relatively new and not be registered for more than 3 years.
Another grant provided by the Australian government allows SMEs to claim up to $1 million in matching funds to help them bear commercialisation costs and costs involved in bringing an innovative product or process to the market. Businesses that want to apply should be registered as for-profit organisation and based in Australia. Under this grant, SMEs can also seek the services of experts for guidance and portfolio services.
Yet another grant provided by the Australian Government to SMEs working towards product innovation includes a matching fund of up to $50,000 along with the services of a dedicated skilled facilitator. The skilled facilitator’s main purpose is to help the company assess its research needs and if required, connect it to the business experts to define its project scope. To be eligible for this grant a business:
- should be registered as a for-profit organisation
- should be registered for GST and non-tax exempt
- should be based in Australia
- annual turnover should be between $1.5 to $100 million
Research and Innovation Grants – State Government
Apart from the Federal grants mentioned above, there are certain states that provide local SMEs in Product Innovation & Research category with considerable funding. One such State government funded grant provides local SMEs with $125,000 to $2.5 million in investment funding. These funds should be utilised for commercialisation or research of innovative products or services. To be eligible, the business should be based in Australia and most of its assets and employees should be from the state providing the grant. Also, applying businesses should already be in the process of developing an innovative product or service.
Another State Government funded grant allows local SMEs to claim a matched fund of up to $200,000 to commercialise innovative products/services/processes. To be eligible, the applicant must be a business or a start-up, registered for GST, based in the state providing the grant and have less than 50 employees.
Above mentioned are only some of the many grants that federal and state governments are providing to improve the quality of SMEs functioning in the Product Innovation & Research category. If you would like to know more about the various grants available within your sector and particularly, grants pertaining to your state along with their eligibility criteria, speak to one of our advisors today.
